Reynaldo Ramirez of Westwood football

After battling Forrest to a halftime tie, the Westwood Rockets saw 2 crucial 4th quarter fumbles and the size and strength of the visitors take over in the second half as Westwood fell 35 to 12 on Thursday night in Duck River Valley Conference football action. Westwood ran 19 plays in the 1st half to Forrest’s 7 plays and outgained the Chapel Hill Rockets in yardage 100 to 49 at the intermission.  In the second half, Forrest scored on all 3 of their offensive possessions and returned a fumble 50 yards for a score to dominate after halftime.
Coach Chad Dyer saw his team execute his offensive strategy to perfection in the first half as they controlled the time of possession and kept the ball away from Forrest.  After recovering a Forrest fumble, Westwood got an early 6 to 0 lead when Reynaldo Ramirez rumbled over from 2 yards out with 3:47 remaining in the half to give Westwood their only lead of the game. Forrest tied the game on the ensuing possession when Cason Warner rumbled 36 yards for a touchdown a mere 34 seconds later. The score remained tied headed to the half. In the second half, Forrest took the kickoff down the field to score a touchdown and 2 point conversion. Westwood got a 4 yard TD run from Ramirez to close the gap to 2 points, but a pair of 4th quarter fumbles sealed the Rockets fate.
Ramirez had 15 carries for 65 yards for Westwood on the night while Trenton Thompson added 11 carries for 52 yards. Skylar Bratcher completed the lone pass of the game to Thompson for 60 yards. That pass converted a crucial 1st down in the opening touchdown drive for the Rockets.
Westwood has a busy week next week with a pair of games. On Tuesday, the Rockets host Middle Tennessee Christian at Dyer-Bouldin Field. On Thursday, Westwood travels to Wartrace to take on Cascade. Both games will kick off at 6:30 PM.

Faith Willoughby of Westwood soccer (Photo by Tiffany Clutter)

The Westwood Lady Rockets wrapped up their preseason preparations as they traveled to Sewanee to take on St Andrew’s-Sewanee on Thursday.  The Lady Rockets managed an early goal and a late goal to capture a 3 to 2 win.  The game was the final scrimmage game of the fall for Westwood.

Faith Willoughby scored a pair of goals and Britney Hernandez had a goal and an assist in the win.  Abygail Hernandez and Alanna Coker combined in goal to get the win.  Westwood opens the regular season on Thursday, August 18^th when they travel to Wartrace to take on Cascade.  The first home match for Westwood will be on Tuesday, August 23^rd when the Lady Rockets play host to Fayetteville.  That match kicks off at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.

Perfect games are an incredibly rare feat in baseball, but a team scoring in every inning is an even more infrequent occasion. On Thursday afternoon, the Brewers didn’t come close to a perfect game, but, instead, became the 19th team since 1900 to score in every inning that they came to bat of an 11-3 rout of the Braves at Miller Park.

Chris Carter got things rolling for Milwaukee with a two-run homer in the first, and Scooter Gennett and Hernan Perez followed suit with solo shots of their own. The Crew capped off the day with an RBI triple by Orlando Arcia with two outs in the eighth.
“I feel bad, because I think I was the only guy that didn’t touch base,” said Brewers right-hander Matt Garza.
He was right. Every starting position player for the Brewers had at least one hit. Four different players scored multiple runs.
Garza did his part with six quality innings to win his third straight start. After missing the first two months of the season with a right lat strain, Garza seems to have found his stride, allowing eight earned runs over his last four starts.
Braves starter Roberto Hernandez surrendered the initial damage, allowing five runs over four innings in his second big league outing of the season. Atlanta dropped consecutive games to split the four-game set with the Brewers. The Braves’ ‘pen worked 13 consecutive scoreless innings during the first three games of this series and then surrendered six runs (five earned) in this finale.
“It wasn’t our best day out there,” Braves catcher Anthony Recker said. “We just weren’t able to get guys out when we needed to. They did a good job of putting some good pitches in play. We had a few too many walks. It was just not a good day, but on to the next one.”
When the Brewers traded away All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy at the Trade Deadline, it opened up a roster spot for Manny Pina, 29, who had been at Triple-A Colorado Springs. On Thursday, Piña delivered his best big league performance to date with two hits, including a bases-clearing double to give the Brewers a 9-2 lead in the sixth. The three RBIs were the first of Piña’s career, which includes brief stops with the Royals in 2011-12.
“Pina’s double, I thought, that’s what kind of made you exhale a little bit,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “In the sixth, they scored two runs back to make it 6-2, and then they had first and second and they had kind of a shot there. But the Pina double in the bottom of the inning was the hit. He had more good at-bats today.”
It didn’t take long for Hernandez to provide the reminder he was just a short-term fix for an injury-depleted rotation that should welcome Julio Teheran back from the disabled list next week. Making his second start of the season, the 35-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits, including the three solo homers, over four innings. Two of the outs he was credited with came courtesy of catcher Recker, who notched three caught stealings, including two within the first three innings.
“It’s going to get better,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who could also welcome reliever Arodys Vizcaino and starting catcher Tyler Flowers back to his roster next week. “We’ve got guys coming. I think we’re doing a good job of hanging in there right now with all of the injuries and stretching the organization as thin as we’ve had.”
Carter came into the game with the most homers at home in baseball and promptly extended that lead with his 20th homer at Miller Park this season. Despite being out front on a 3-2 slider from Hernandez, Carter muscled it into the Milwaukee bullpen in left-center to put the Brewers up, 2-0. It was Carter’s 27th homer of the season, matching the most by a Brewer over the last four seasons.
“I was just trying to hit that ball, I wasn’t trying to hit a homer,” Carter said. “I just ended up clicking it just right and hitting a home run on it.”
Aybar stays hot: One day after bidding adieu to a 14-game hitting streak, Erick Aybar produced a three-hit game, which was highlighted when he opened a two-run sixth with his second homer of the season. The much-maligned shortstop stood as one of baseball’s least productive players throughout this season’s first four months. But with free agency looming, he has hit .377 (23-for-61) over his past 15 games.
“He’s been swinging the bat really well,” Snitker said. “He’s just playing really solid baseball. Since we put him in the two-hole, he’s kind of gone off a little bit.”
Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound when Atlanta travels to Washington, D.C., to begin a three-game series against the Nationals on Friday at 6:05 p.m. CT. Foltynewicz bounced back from two rough starts by tossing six solid innings against the Cardinals on Sunday.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as a member of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.  We will begin our coverage at 6 PM.

Kickin’ Cancer Playday Schedule (click to enlarge and print)

The Coffee County Middle School soccer team will hold their 12th annual soccer playday on Saturday on their home pitch at CCMS. Since 2011, Coach Travis O’Kelley and the booster club have added a service element to the event as it is known as the “Kickin’ Cancer Play Day.” The event begins at 9 AM and will conclude just before 6 PM. Eight different schools, from 6 different counties will be in attendance as the teams will play varsity and JV “halves” throughout the day.
In 2011, a portion of the proceeds went to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Beginning in 2012, the beneficiary became the Middle Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition as it is a local organization which would ensure that the funds donated would go to someone in this area. “Many of us, including players, have friends or even family members who have been affected by breast cancer” said O’Kelley. He went on to say “This is a good opportunity for our players to learn the importance of getting involved with a cause and giving back to their community.” Since they began raising money, O’Kelley estimates that CCMS Girls Soccer has contributed between $1,600 and $2,000 to these organizations.